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Evolution of a Revolution

HBO's Miniseries 'John Adams' Aims for Realism

By

Robert J. Hughes

Updated Feb. 29, 2008 12:01 a.m. ET

The American Revolution may have been glorious, but it wasn't pretty. So the creators of "John Adams" wanted to make sure their coming HBO miniseries about one of the Founding Fathers captured the grittiness of the time period. The actors wore little makeup. Often their hair was kept dirty. Their costumes weren't neat and pressed. And dim interiors were lit by flickering candles. This "John Adams" aims to be more like 1776 than "1776," the musical. "Our joke was, we will view ourselves as successful if John Adams ends up on the money, if he gets a bill of his own," says actor...